Awakening into new intellect beyond self-assigned fetters, spiraling out of the death/rebirth conundrum which cruelest nature dictates by law, all abundant outward growth insists that time remain a construct, isolation a matter of scale, and potentiate energy uncountable. After a three year cycle of constant output, three immediate lifetimes and subsequent reincarnations at warp speed Ontario, Canada-based death metal trio Tomb Mold haven’t merely matured in terms of technique for this inarguably elevated fourth full-length album but now achieve sentience beyond assigned purpose. In positioning themselves behind a personalized style of still thrillingly executed, groove-thrust classicist yet modern progressive death metal intent ‘The Enduring Spirit‘ veers confidently into a next-level of being which towers above the past, having absorbed additional lifetimes of skill and insight in the years between. Inspired, affirming, texturally scintillating yet still affably violent in its death-bound notions of rhythm this’ll have to be one of the most essential death metal adjacent releases heard all year.

Birthed from a spring-loaded coffin circa 2015 as a point of collaboration between former members of powerviolence band Purity Control the challenge of Tomb Mold was simply make death metal per thier own tastes/abilities and the place they’d started was horrified grinding and clangorous Finndeath-soaked in style, morbid and musty but built from quick-striking grooves and shotgunned brutality. The quick notice and sudden booster to the original trio’s popularity was obviate, they had riffs which erred on the side of a memorable, elastic type of phrase which wasn’t so focused on the brutality of caverncore which’d began petering out in the early 2010’s. ‘Primordial Malignity‘ (2017) was of course the “Holy hot shit” moment for many ‘old school’ attuned death metal fans of the time, an impressive leap in structure and depth of composition beyond their first couple of demo tapes, all of which still holds up today per its energetic movement and tangled arrangements. The original era of the band was obsessed with a certain brain-popping style of morbid horror one’d naturally associate with the aesthetics of the rawest tape-trading era of late 80’s death metal but the passing focus on gloomed-out Finnish death and its Lovecraftian warp’d soon transmogrify into cosmic horror, catching my ear per the ‘Cryptic Transmissions‘ demo tape in 2017 and I suppose I’ve been a huge fan ever since.

2017 was also the point where the band’d done well enough to develop a style which might’ve been referential to ‘old school’ death metal in a serious way but not dependent on obvious grabs from obscure greats, their style had clearly been built from the guitarist and drummer developing a rhythmic hive mind wherein a kinetic, locked in but swinging-hot style of riff became a signature point of admiration for those prone to target riffcraft as a function of authorship the way obsessive death metal fandom tends to. That is to say that the core relationship between the rhythm section and the two guitarists carried through within each seeming point of refabrication and morph per their first three LPs. The big one, the record to make it “real” for the greater underground death metal zeitgeist and the one to impress anyone still catching up with their pace was ‘Manor of Infinite Forms‘ (2018) and I would argue that is the one that’ll hold up best for folks who want the grit and creeping horror of early 90’s death metal riff obsession. If you’re not familiar with Tomb Mold album number two is probably hands down the one to check first and see what the hype was all about early on. I was hooked on their ever-shifting sands at that point and would eventually set that second album at #10 on my Best of 2018.

The third year was the biggest as Tomb Mold‘s modus of releasing a raw demo tape when a new full-length is in the works returned with ‘Cerulean Salvation‘ (2019) as a most direct suggestion of what they were working on for ‘Planetary Clairvoyance‘ (2019) the cap on the band’s rapid evolutionary event at that point which I’d reviewed, interviewed, and set the album at #2 on my Top 50 Albums of 2019 obviously having been a fand of the direction they’d taken on it, a sweet spot between haunted space station-level brutality and the (again) elastic snap of their grooves which’d reached peak sophistication on that record. If you’ve taken the time to return to the b and’s discography after seeing a fourth album was on the way you may very well be surprised at how dark yet full-range that third album had become as a sensical evolution beyond their first record, a horrific sentience that was in fact worthy of its notice then and now. Back then I’d suggest album number three was the celestial rebirth of their haunt, a passage to a different realm and their darkest yet work… So, well, does the title of album number four, ‘The Enduring Spirit‘ end up being as drastic a vibe-warp as it appears? Yes, probably, but it’ll be less of a shock if you’d gotten the memo with demo number five (‘Aperture of Body‘, 2022). If you do any “homework” or pre-gaming before striking into this record, fall back into the xenomorph lair of their third LP and ride directly into the most recent demo.

Should a fourth full-length be a calculated event, or a point of defining freedom? — As a fellowe who enjoys biographies, the tragedian collapse of the egotist muso, and the history of rock band interrelations/business mishaps of the most classic era… the fourth longplayer from a band that’d seen -any- success is typically a breaking point in one of two directions: [1] Fragmentation and stylistic course correction, a fight for control where accessible work tends to outfight experimentation. [2] Cohesion. Taking a deep breath, getting back to it and naturally breaking through together. Per interviews, Tomb Mold had already planned to chill and go about their fourth album without such a rush. I don’t doubt they’d have penned a very different record, though, if the “luxury” of the pandemic hadn’t gated off any progress made in collectivo, they work in a rehearsal space and create music meant to be performed. This meant all work done between 2020-2021 was essentially done on the self as singularity or within side-projects (see: Dream Unending, Topiary, etc.) and this didn’t necessarily change how they worked together but rather what each brought to this new alien form.

Drummer/vocalist Max Klebanoff is yet the gluey biomass, the spine and the vortex of voices that dictates the imposing register of Tomb Mold where he can be found adapting their central control panel to more of a 360 degree viewscreen in navigating the gnarled questions of purpose when faced with the cruelty of natural decline. His station is lit with the full body tilt and kick into “The Perfect Memory (Phantasm of Aura)”, blasting weaving and grooving with an almost Voivod-esque waft and wonk to the opening riffs from the two guitarists as they cut through what is easily some of the most technical interplay to be found on any record from these folks. Yes, the fretless bass guitar (per guitarist Derrick Vella) should have signaled this clearly enough by now but this is a masterfully crafted progressive death metal album and, no, they’re not struggling through these moments but both guitarists are literally shredding away throughout. Any seasoned metal fan knows by instinct that an album that includes the credits for the solos within the lyrics is up to some serious shit and ‘The Enduring Spirit‘ is letting it fly for the duo of tracks that break us into view of their new-utopian point of ponderance with the momentum and flair one’d want from these folks.

The finessed off-kilter trading of blows that the opener and equally fiery “Angelic Fabrications” offer a leap into something new, freshly sophisticated technique and increasingly original choices made, but also sticks to the signature movement of Tomb Mold. From my point of view this cadence is how such an unexpectedly wailing and joyously attacked record reels it in just enough to remain tuneful and riff-heavy for folks who might otherwise not dabble into such atmospheric and lyrically set guitar work. That said you have indeed stepped into a different portal and this much will be obvious as the opus, devourer of solace “Will of Whispers” is the real centerpiece of Side A here, the first hint of a ‘Focus‘-level munition in mind and the song that’d begin to set the mind adrift an engross on its nearly seven minute dance between heavier aggression and beauteous chiming respite. That momentum continues directly through the otherwise more groove-heavy “Fate’s Tangled Thread” which is another that hits the four guitar solo quota and highlights the very different but complimentary lead styles between Vella and second guitarist Payson Power who has undoubtedly shown up for this record in a big way. Hell, there are few thrash metal bands around today who trade-off lead guitar duties with any distinct enough style shared between ’em, much less death metal bands formed beyond the 90’s.

Side A shows its range, it’s beauteous fluidity shared from one moment to another, and the expert level gains each member has brought to their deal and in this sense it feels complete and overwhelming at once in terms of its nutso level of detail. This leaves the second half of the album free to explore guitar textures, rhythmic complexity and buzz through a few more riff machines before a huge send-off to close things out. I’d found myself initially taking a pause as “Flesh As Armour” arrived, digging through my old circa ’92 death metal records trying to figure out where I’d heard the riff they open the song with, struggling to figure where that left hand technique would’ve been and not getting much deeper than the second Atrocity record before letting it be. Really I could ramble on about every piece here as there is as much detail in every piece as there is in the impressive cover art that frames the event; There are two conversations going on in the midst of “Servants of Possibility” one the twining aeternum of the lead guitars as they extend the voice/conversation of the piece, another in the vocal roar as the lyrics elaborate a karmic reality of life under the wheel, a self-destructive and futile process given a tragedian downcast, clear signs from both fonts that the end was coming and some manner of severing from the anxiety of purpose was taking place. In plainest terms, this piece seems geared well towards its theme and feels well-set as the preamble before the grand finale.

Eleven and a half minute closer “The Enduring Spirit of Calamity” initially threatens to overload the brain with more groovin’ riffs of a certain vein to start but much like “Prestige of Rebirth” on the ‘Aperture of Body‘ tape the song soon puts to good use some of the floaty progressive rock translated ideas from Vella‘s signature lead style that’d been nurtured within the first two LPs from his death/doom metal project Dream Unending. When considering how one translates getting the band back together for another album, having fun with it, to such a pure overload of ideas enriched with three years worth of personal, spiritual and professional growth it is hard to fathom just how different this fourth planet from Tomb Mold is and this should’ve sunken in over on Side A but won’t fail to hit in the midst of the extended lead and glimmering arpeggios of the extended endpoint.

Eternal sunshine of the dry-rotting mind. — It wasn’t until the week of announcement/release that I’d had a copy of the album artwork for ‘The Enduring Spirit‘ and in some sense its reveal has provided a focal point for the sharp edges, blurred insight and meandering imagery I’d assigned to the full listen on my own throughout the months leading up. With the glistening rocky cliffs, genetics-dripping mushrooms and trees of life abounding on the deeper purple color schema of artist Jesse Jacobi whose decidedly more Giger-ified darker touch gave ‘Planetary Clairvoyance‘ its sci-fi sheen back in 2019. The artist is now likewise known for their work on point-and-click adventure game Norco, a note which might add some familiarity to their detailed all-round-edges style. The feeling the art resounds with is ebullient, in revelation and quite directly signals a liberated yet surreal metaphysical trip which suits Tomb Mold‘s lyrics and shimmering yet entangled moodiness on this release. Of course, in practical terms it is both eye-catching and gaze-holding as a finely detailed cover art fitting for a dark yet brimming prog-death metal record.

Maybe that’d be the most important point to make, the classic progressive death metal feeling of this record isn’t a trite imitation or vague set of referential events but has curiously evolved into a weirding but eminently listenable coral reef of interest as it whips from densely packed world-class bounding tangles of forms to beauteous points of reveal. The knot of it all eventually unties itself and the greater hum of the record makes good sense as a leap beyond the dark chest-burster that was ‘Planetary Clairvoyance‘. In my case it helps that I’ve long been a huge fan of progressive death metal and its many weirdos and outliers, loving the personal introspective meta-touch when applied to death metal that speaks to skills that stretch well beyond moshable caveman gunk, and with more to say than wanking kata-style fretboard exercises. This release would be exacting to my taste even if it wasn’t from a band I’d been an overdriven fan over prior. After just over ~three months spent pouring over ‘The Enduring Spirit‘ and containing a summer’s worth of reactions it is fair to say that this album has incredible depth, a work which bears a lasting and repeatable sense of inspiration which now appears daunting in execution and effect next to Tomb Mold‘s past work. An immense work and likely a gaze at Particle 010 for those similarly inclined. Highest possible recommendation.

*NOTE: Digital releases September 15th, Physical formats release October 13th.

---